photo: thetwocents
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
Want to floor the writer who put vampires on HBO? Give her an award.
Author Charlaine Harris, who created the Sookie Stackhouse books that are the basis of the Emmy-nominated series True Blood, blushed when the folk at Comic-Con gave her Inkpot Award for Achievement in Fantasy and Science Fiction.
“Thank you,” she said, bright red enough to tempt any of the fanged persuasion. “Thank you all for coming here at the same time Angelina Jolie is talking. We must attract a different crowd.”
She started by telling the story of how her career as a mystery writer had come to a standstill and, as a longtime Anne Rice fan, she decided to write a book with a vampire in it. “But I didn’t want to write from the vampire’s point of view,” explained Harris, who had her first panel that featured only her on Thursday. “So I thought of a character dating a vampire, but what kind of woman would do such a stupid thing?”
That of course, led to Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana. But Harris said even her agent hated the book and it took two years to sell. Now there are 10 Sookie Stackhouse books, which regularly appear in the bestseller’s lists, and she has a contract for at least three more.
Harris told a few stories and took an almost endless stream of questions from the audience, which seemed to be equally made up of fans of the books and fans of the TV series (and many fans of both). Her first story began when her kids finally persuaded her to get a Facebook page.
“One of my first messages was from Anne Rice,” she said, looking incredulous. “That was just beyond weird. She told me she was a big fan of the show. So I told her she should really read the books [she gives a look that says she can’t believe she was so bold to Anne Rice]— and now she reads the books! Every now and then, we message each other and I think, ‘my life has changed a lot.’”
A few other questions she answered:
Why the name Sookie Stackhouse?
“It’s a very old Southern nickname. My grandmother’s friend’s nickname was Sookie. I thought it was a good name for a girl with old-fashioned values but with a modern twist. Stackhouse I got out of the phonebook. I didn’t think about how hard [the name] would be for people with fangs to say. They tend to spit when they say “S.” Maybe now I’d name her Dora Dunce.”
Will you ever bring elements that are just in the series, such as the character Jessica, into your book?
“Never. I love Jessica too and I wish I had thought of her first. But the books and the show are separate entertainment vehicles. The show has its own writers. Some of the characters are sorta the same and some are different — and that’s OK. But you’re getting two entertainment experiences for the price of one.”
When you introduce a character, do you now the whole character arc beforehand?
“Truthfully, the way I write is a disgrace. I’m a pantser, which means I fly by the seat of my pants. I invent a character because I need them to do a function. Then I flesh them out. My minor characters are the most fun. They’re like paper dolls, in the literary sense.”
How much control do you have over the series?
Once I signed over the rights to someone, that’s it. My control goes to the person I give the rights to. With Alan Ball, I gave them to the absolutely right person. Everyone involved with Alan is amazingly talented.”
Will there be more Sookie stories?
“I love writing Sookie and I haven’t run out on her. I have a contract for three more. There will be a short story about Sookie and Pam and a stripper pole in ‘Death’s Excellent Vacation,’ which comes out in August. In February, there will be the Sookie Compendium, which will have a novella about Sam and Sookie going to Sam’s brother’s wedding with Quinn in it, an interview with Alan Ball, recipes (not my idea) an FAQ with me, and secret emails between Bill and Eric.”
Do the actors on the show look like the characters in your head?
“A few actually do look exactly right. Kristin Bauer van Straten likes just like my version of Pam. Chris Bauer really looks like Andy Bellefleur. They’re the ones that really fit.”[Anna Paquin?] “God bless Anna. She’s so small. Sookie [in the books] is definitely curvier. Sookie’s a bigger gal than that.”
Will Sookie ever become a vampire?
“No. Never.” But does Eric want her to be? “Actually, in the book I writing right now, he’s asking her to seriously consider it. To him, it’s the next logical step.”
Team Bill or Team Eric?
“You’re kidding right? They’re both part of me, which says something about me, doesn’t it? But I think dividing them into teams is counter productive to the books.”
Is Bubba (Elvis) coming back?
“He’s going to be in the next book. The character came to me in flash while watching Men in Black, where they showed a scene of the supposed humans that were aliens. And I thought, ‘of course Elvis is a vampire.’ It made immediate sense to me and explained everything.”
Stay tuned to TheTwoCents for more ComicCon 2010 coverage!
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
TheTwoCents 
I’m so glad there’s going to be more sookie books. and laughed out load hearing the name she said she would probably choose now: Dora. my nick name in twitter is Dora kula 😀
She is a funny person in person. It was tough to write out her timing, but she always had a pause, then delivered the zinger. I think she’d be a great dinner companion.